15180/We dating or what

We dating or what
Date of Scene:	04 June 2023
Location:	Sheal Dockyards, West Side, Burnley
Synopsis:	Conner and Dinah kick the crap out of some poor unfortunate animal smugglers then plan a date!
Cast of Characters:	Black Canary, Superboy

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Black Canary has posed:
She's not "the world's greatest detective". But she's a good one, the public persona of being an airhead, after all, being just that: the public persona. Spending more time in Gotham at Dick's behest, Dinah has used old school techniques to track down this shipment.

Of llamas.

Don't laugh! It's not funny! The poor creatures are being transported for use in trendy ranches for city folk to go to to pretend they're linking up with the land, but which have to have trendy animals that aren't native to said land to attract customers. And getting these delivered legally is expensive which means ... there's a black market for LLAMAS.

STOP LAUGHING!

At any rate, it's not the specific crime that's the problem, but the criminal enterprise behind it. So this is how Dinah found herself at the dockyard, investigating a freshly-arrived ship, and ...

Well, OK, it wasn't really her fault. The guy wasn't supposed to be there. And even that wouldn't have been a problem, that he'd returned for his girlfriend's picture (D'aw!). A snap kick to the face and he was lights-out and flying backward.

No, the problem was he was lights-out and flying backward into the general quarters alarm. The one used in cargo ships to alert of major problems like fire.

Or a vigilante on board.

In total 35 crewmen were on board, and while at first they were encountered individually or in pairs and thus easy to take out, they were beginning to cluster.

And now, here she was, in the cargo hold, nine crewmen at the exit she was planning to get away through and seven more at the entrance she'd just come in through; the seven she was evading.

"I'll bet you think you've got me now," she says. "Only ... I'm not stuck in here with you. You're stuck in here with me."

Superboy has posed:
Illegal smuggling ain't funny.

Even if it's just llamas. THe poor creatures were being transported for ranch use via a black market that's...somehow thriving. Hey, don't ask Superboy. He's been trying to work on this a little bit with some of the Bat clan and that's how he found himself here at the docks, tracking down clues that were fed to him. He flies overhead, coming in for a quick landing.

He even manages to land without shattering through one of the large shipping containers! Superman's mentorship is paying off in more ways than one. He hears the sound of a nose breaking and a body hitting the ground by compliments of a steel-toed boot. She even gave his favorite one-liner!

Superboy jumps off of where he is, landing behind Dinah to cover her six.

"Us." He smirks at her. "Hey." He says in that suave way of his, before he looks at those crewmen who think they can take them. "I got right, you got left?"

Black Canary has posed:
Conner's landing spooks Dinah a second and a roundhouse, roadhouse kick barely stops in time before she shatters her ankle on his face.

"Sheesh! Let a girl know you're joining the party before jumping in!" she grumbles, though a grin is on her face (somewhat sheepish). "That way I could tell you to fake me knocking you out and have them surrender when they see me clock one of the big-S family into unconsciousness!"

She turns her attention back to the once-approaching, but now less certain and eyeing the exits, assailants.

Without answering Conner, she leaps at her assigned batch, aiming all of her ferocity at the tall, muscular woman carrying what has to be the world's largest wrench as her chosen weapon. That would be the ship's chief mechanic, Daisy Fields. And yes, she has had the kind of rough life that that delicate a name attached to that much powerful bulk would have. So she can be excused somewhat for her life of crime.

But not enough to not get knocked out in a flurry of punches and kicks before her body hits the floor.

"That," Dinah says, addressing Conner, "is called 'shock and awe'. Let me see you try it on your crowd."

The people on her side start to scatter, trying to avoid the furious fists of the pint-sized pugilist that just took out their best without seeming to try.

Superboy has posed:
INCOMING!

"Woah! Easy there, wild child." Conner smiles at her.He notices the sheepish grin on her face and he shoots her a playful wink. "I don't think they would've bought it. I would just be lying there while they all tried to jump you. But now you do have me." He refocuses on his assigned batch, watching as the Canary proceeds to absolutely fucking annihilate that poor, colossal woman with the world's biggest wrench (tm) as her weapon, landing numerous punches and kicks that cracks and breaks numerous bones before *THUDDING* against the ground.

"Nice."

And hot as hell. He chuckles. "Watch this." And Superboy is a /blur/ as he leaps forward, his fists move like lightning as he knocks numerous cremen aside until they are unconscious on the ground. He's gentle and pulls his punches...but they're still enough to knock people /out/.

"How's that?" He wasn't the martial artist Dinah was, he was just blunt force trauma in a muscular frame, aided by superhuman strength and speed.

Black Canary has posed:
"Cheating!" Dinahs says with a fake pout. While stooping for some reason. She comes out of the stoop with the world's biggest wrench in her hands and throws it. Eyes flicking ahead of its ponderous-seeming arc will note that the fleetest of those on her side was about to make it to the door when the wrench, whose ponderousness in flight was just an illusion caused by its size, strikes him in the back of the knees and brings him to ground, face-first on the deckplates.

That's gonna leave a mark.

"The rest of you, freeze!" she shouts. "Surrender and you get a bit of humiliation. Fight and you get broken bones and concussions. And a lot of humiliation. Your call."

There's always one.

Of the five on her side remaining standing, four, having seen Dinah down two of them without even breaking much of a sweat, stop and raise their hands, interlacing their fingers behind their heads. They know the drill.

But there's always that one.

He turns his scarred face toward Canary and grins, getting into a boxer's stance.

"You and me, chickie. No holds barred. I win an..."

He doesn't finish before there's what looks like a bean bag hitting him in the mouth. Only it hits with more force than a bean bag should be able to. And while he's reeling from that, before the bean bag even hits the ground, a knuckle duster-equipped fist backs it up.

"Idiot," she spits.

The bag hits the ground, making the sound of ... lead pellets. Hitting the floor. Ouch.

The man spins to the floor and knows no more.

"So, you think you can tie those four up with something fancy like a torn up strip of deck plating?"

Superboy has posed:
"All's fair when people are actively trying to kill you!" Conner calls back with a noticeable degree of laughter. A guy fully pivots into Conner's way, throwing a perfect punch. Good torque, good twisting, proper usage of his entire body into the punch to account for the momentum. Only problem is, Conner is EXTREMELY durable and a normal, unaided human fist isn't going to do anything to him. With an audible crack and a loud scream, the man doubles to the ground on his knees, holding his shattered hand.

"So...walk me through that." He points at the 'S' on his chest, the red pipelining around his entire person (https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/marvel_dc/images/3/3a/Superboy_Vol_6_29_Textless.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140312202548) leading to the red 'S' n his chest. "Why did you think punching me was a good idea when Big Blue takes meteors t the face?" When he's still met with screaming, Superboy sighs. "I dunno either."

He turns to see Dinah as she calls for surrender, and none of them really listen....except for two. Surprising. They surrender. But there's always one.

Thankfully, he gets beat to his knees and straight into unconsciousness while he thought he was hot shit. Well, lucky for him, Dinah doesn't kill people. His medical bills will absolutely finish teh job though.

Poor bastard.

"Yeah, I got you covered."

He moves like a blur, grabbing one of the ropes that keep some of those ships well-anchored and he gathers the crewmen and women into a good circle to keep them firm, and he runs literal circles around them to ensure that rope is /tight/. Tight enough that it would take some /serious/ teamwork to get out of it.

"Well...that was easy."

He turns to Dinah then, a smirk on his face. "Not bad for a random night out, yeah?" He looks at Dinah then, as if trying to see if she broke a sweat, trying to determine if she's been doing this for /awhile/. But...excitement is running through him. Adrenaline.

In a bold move, he reaches out with his arm to curl it around Dinah and pull her close if she allows, so close that they're chest to chest. "Which reminds me...are we dating or what?"

Without another word, he leans in to try and kiss her. Passionate and heated in the embrace, if it is allowed at all. He fully expects her to Canary Cry him in the face, but well...there's an old addage: fortune favors the bold. There may be hope yet!

Black Canary has posed:
The signs are there that she's been doing it for a while. The thin glow of perspiration. (The subtle scent paired with the same.) And there's the telltale heart rate increase. That slight tremble in the limbs. Even that darkly dangerous glint she has in her eye as she looks over the assembled talent. She's jacked on adrenaline.

"Not ba..." The rest of that sentence would have read '...d at all' but it gets cut off by the sudden pull into a hug. Dinah blinks at the question, trying to keep up with Conner's thoughts' speed. And just as she starts to catch on he kisses her.

For the briefest instant there's a hint of resistance before she melts into it herself, fired up by the blood singing in her veins and by that feel of being desired.

The kiss is returned with the same force and heat, with some interest.

"Not yet ... but now I'm not sure why."

Superboy has posed:
Not bad at all.

Conner meets her lips with heat and force, interest in the molding of their lips. But eventually, as heart rates rapidly increase and perspiration exists over both of them, they have to actually come up for air. When they both pull away from each other to be able ot speak? Conner is still keeping her close, not quite releasing her unless he feels the resistance of her leaning away to get that distance.

"I can always ask you to dinner first...or I can just kiss you again and hope to change your mind."

He smiles at her, charming and confident in his actions. She can always punch him in the face, of course. Though he meets her eyes, a fire in his blood.

"But hey...I got to kiss you. Without getting my ears blown out. I'd say I'd be lucky to do it again."

Black Canary has posed:
"I don't usually blow ears, but can't account for kin..." Dinah feigns surprise. "Wait, that's not what you meant. Ignore that."

Mischief personified in that wink now.

"I'd say dinner and a movie, but I don't think there's a movie worth watching made in the last five years. And we're too early in the relationship for Netcell and Chill." She feigns thought.

"Know any underground fights? I have some aggression to work off. And I can't think of a better way to work off aggression."

The mischief increases as she looks Conner in the eye. "Unless you've got a better plan?"

Superboy has posed:
Conner winks at her when she seems to catch what he meant.

"Can do that. Only movie on theaters right now is...what, the ninth, tenth Fast and the Furious movie? They just keep getting more wild with each one. I quit after the fifth." Because of /course/ he watched Fast & Furious. He smiles at her though. "Wouldn't mind a little bit of Netcell and Chill." He smirks at her, he tilts his head.

"Not super familiar with the underground fight scene. I'm sure we can put an ear to the ground and find out though." When she has that mischief in her eyes, Conner lifts his hand to move some hair behind her ear. "Well....we could do /that/." mischief reflected in his own eyes. "But that requires really testing your flexibility and I don't know how confident your feeling right now." He smirks, smiling like a devil.

Black Canary has posed:
Canary raises an eyebrow. "YOU are questioning MY flexibility in .. that?!" she asks incredulously. "THAT sounds like a challenge! You're on! Dinner and then you and I are going spelunking. We'll soon see who's flexible enough to go through small, narrow, spaces and who's going to get caught the first time the cave gets a bit narrow!"

She may be misinterpreting what 'that' means. Wilfully. Given the fact she's very desperately trying not to grin.

"So here's your test. Where for dinner? This is where we find out if you can figure out my tastes or not."

Superboy has posed:
Conner tilts his head at Canary. Did she misunderstand what he was suggesting?

Oh, most /definitely/. But points for effort? Conner smirks at her, looking at himself. "I can tell you right now you win at that. I don't exactly do tight spaces, unless they're warm." He returns some measure of fire. Even if he can't match her mischievous wit, he can at least get her thinking!

"Well, my first guess would probably be Chinese food. There's a place down the way that has some of the best sweet and sour you'll ever have. Alternatively, there's tacos."

He probably failed the test, but it's a good effort!

Black Canary has posed:
"Well done. You didn't go too fancy and you didn't go too cheap." Seems he passed. "So many guys try to turn my head with stupidly expensive, fru-fru stuff and here I am just wanting good working class food, but a bit special. Like I didn't date a billionaire or three."

Rumours say that number is woefully falling short of the mark.

"So, let's hit the Chinese place. I mean tacos are good too, but I had them last night, so ... Chinese it is!"

Beat.

"And I'll let you crawl around inside volcanoes without me. Too hot for my tastes."

Yeah, she's playing. Too much sparkle in her eyes.

"Let me call this in to the cops and we'll be off, OK?"